


Kinetic

by missunionmaximoff



Category: Avengers (Movieverse), Captain America (Movieverse), Deadpool - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, PTSD, Torture, marvel mashup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:09:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9306695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missunionmaximoff/pseuds/missunionmaximoff
Summary: Zoya just wanted to graduate high school. Go to college. She didn't want a mutation. She didn't want super human strength like her brother. She didn't want to her the voices of people's thoughts like her mother, those voices mixes with the voices of her own mind. When she thinks she may be able to control it, she finds that even suppressants can't stop her mind. She has no other choice but to go to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, founded by Charles Xavier I and now ran by the dean, Charles Xavier II.Only, she doesn't make it to the school. She's taken to a place far worse than any nightmare that can be dreamed. She learns that she is more powerful than any could imagined.{also on wattpad under the same title/author}





	1. the day the world changed

The world changed on October 28, 1963. It was a cloudy day on a Cuban beach front. Many islanders had already evacuated, the some had stayed, not wanting to leave the only home they had ever known. Those that had stayed watched from the safety of the highest hill the ships that nearly surrounded their island. Those islanders, historians believe, were the first to see the stray missile come out of the clouds.

It hit the American ship with total accuracy. That was the last thing the islanders has saw. That was the last thing anyone on or near the island had saw.

From Florida, one could see the cloud of smoke engulf the island. It would soon engulf the world.

For two days, a cloud of radiation and smoke darkened the world. For two days, people of the world were exposed to vast and varying amounts of radiation. Many were transformed. Many only gained sickness and poisoning. Very many died.

To this day, why only fifty-five percent of the world’s population had transformed is a question no scientist can answer. The rest had died or only faced a sickness that they had recovered from.

Some may say that this day held a massacre and great pain, though others believe it was a miracle of God. Due to the great change of humanity, medicine and technology leaped far ahead of its time.

The world had truly changed on October 28, 1963.


	2. leaving the skies you love

Charles Xavier was pleasantly surprised when he awoke that morning. The children were still sleeping, it being such an early hour, but the faculty had already started their day. In his mind, the tired shuffling of thoughts of _which worksheet for the seventh graders_ or _how prepared are they for this pop quiz should it be counted for participation or content knowledge_ gave him a simple kind of contentment. What really surprised him though, was the quiet hum of thoughts from the man next to him.

Erik was sleeping peacefully, a special kind of gift and one he did not receive often. Charles was tempted to allow him more sleep, but alas, Erik had a physics exam to give his eleventh graders.

“Erik, darling, wake up,” He spoke softly, gently rubbing his hands through his husband's hair.

Erik was quite easy to wake, especially since Charles had a permanent fixture in his mind. Between the soft jostling and the playful pokes in his conscious, Erik woke with only a flutter of his eyes.

“Good morning, dear.” Charles grinned.

He allowed one quick kiss on Erik hairline before pulling his chair closer to the bed. His fingers almost brushed against the handle, but the chair floated away.

“Erik, please,” he muttered, feeling arms wrap around his stomach.

Erik wasn't much of a morning person or a cuddler.

“A something wrong? Or are you just thinking with your dick?”

He more so felt Erik snort against his back than heard it, but none the less, he was released and his chair was pushed well within his grasp.

“What time is it?”

Charles shifted himself into his hair before answering.

“About five o'clock, give or take a few minutes.”

Erik groaned into his hands. He pushed himself from the bed and stumbled into the en suite bathroom. Charles hummed as the sound of water overtook the newfound silence. He pushed his chair towards the closet and pulled out his normal pair of slacks and a light grey sweater.

Then, he joined his husband in the shower.

||||||||||

Zoya sat on the roof, gazing at the changing colors of the sky. The chill of the air ruffled her hair as she took one last glance at the the country sky. She wouldn't see it for a very long time. The last of the stars dimmed in morning sun. She sighed.

“Zo, come on. it's time to go.”

Zoya turned down to look at Elizabeth. She stared up at her from the ground. With her stood Elizabeth’s family and Zoya’s mother. Her bags were down beside her mom's feet.

Her hands shook as she lowered herself down the raised ladder. Zoya turned to her family once her feet touched the grass. Her mom gazed at her, her eye a milky white and head tilted as she murmured under her breath. Her caretaker stood next the car just behind the family.

Her mother smiled blankly and patted Zoya’s shoulder.

“She’ll be okay. She’ll be okay. She's strong. She's strong,” she muttered, tilted her head side to side, listening to the different voices inside her head.

Zoya couldn't tell if she was responding to the unspoken thoughts of the people around her, or the ones that haunt her. Either way, Zoya accepted the affection and pulled her mother into a tight hug.

“Yeah, mom. I’ll be okay. I’ll be safe I promise,” she whispered.

They broke away. Zoya took in her mother’s appearance one last time. Her long, brown hair that was graying at the roots. Her pale skin, hanging loosely around her neck in her old age. The golden chain the hang around her neck, holding the three small birthstone. Her mother. Her brother. Herself. Zoya memorized her.

“Bye mom. I’ll see you later okay?”

Her mother nodded absently, a smile never leaving her face. Zoya gave a watery grin before nodded to the orderly at the car. As the nurse neared, Zoya turned to Elizabeth and her family.

“Call us if you need anything, okay? Anything,” Leaha spoke, her voice shaking.

“And call us even if you don't!” Johnny laughed.

Tears enter Zoya eyes, but didn't fall. She looked at the family that had cared for her all these years. Her lip wobbled as she fell into Leaha’s arms for a hug. She stayed there as she listened to her mother's footsteps fade away, her voice fading as the car door closed. Soon, she was listening to the crunch of the driveway as her mother was driven back to the psychiatric hospital she had lived at for years.

She felt Leaha comb her fingers through her hair, tugging lightly at the twisted hair. She clenched her eyes closed as the tears fell.

“I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.”

||||||||||

Erik placed his papers on his desk as his first class of students tumbled in, sleep still evident in their eyes, despite it being half past nine. He sat contently in his chair, feet on a cleared section of his desk. When the last of his students were seated his called role.

“Akler. Benton. Bonnet. Caler. Dodge. Deaeler. Dant. Ellain.”

Once everyone was accounted for, he passed the metal tray around as he wrote the lesson plans for the day on the board.

“Today we’re going to be talking about the more advance knowledge of kinetic energy. To make things more interesting, we’ll being going outside to use our mutations in order to fully understand. Any disagreements?”

The metal tray landed lightly on his desk as each student filled out the questionnaire of name, date, and class. When there were no complaints, Eric rallied the senior class of students out into the hall and out the side door that led to the backyard of the institute.

“Alright,” Eric started, “kinetic energy is the energy and object has because of its motion. For example, Eli uses his super strength during field day _and cheats_ the transfer of energy from his arm, into the force of the ball is kinetic energy.”

The children snicker at Warren’s sheepish embarrassment and disagreements of  _I do not cheat, Mr. Lehnsherr! I am using my god given talents._ Erik allows the disruption for a moment more before calling the attention back to him.

“Alright. Alright. If any of you actually read the paper, you’ll see that this project will be done in groups of two. And yes, Sara, you may pick your partner. But I repeat, there will be no incidents like last time! No one is jumping to the roof nor will there be any competition. Just do the project!”

The large group disbanded to do the work, all except Peter. He simply sat himself under a tree and answered the questions. Erik let him be as he monitored the other more... restless students. They seemed to understand the concept quite easily as the finished the assignment before venturing to answer their own questions about mutations and physics, a few groups becoming three or four. The only student that was not involved was Peter. He had finished his assignment before gathering his laptop.

_Faculty and students, please return to the institute. Faculty and students, please return to the institute. This is a Class Two emergency._

Charles' demand echoed in his ears, as it probably did in all the professor’s. Erik’s back had straightened as he quickly called the students to attention.

“Children. Come along. Time to head back to the classroom. Turn in your assignments and get your books out. Start the reading.”

They all groaned, trudging back into the school. Peter was the last to enter the school. Erik locked the door after a brief mental scan of the back yard for the metal ID chips every student and worker of the school must wear.

The student were seated at their seats as Erik calmly entered the room. There were no further information from Charles and-

“Oh my God! Mr. Lehnsherr! Mr. Lehnsherr!”

Erik quickly turned to Jasmine, a blue young woman with wings protruding from her back. She held her phone in her hands with horror written on her face. Most of the class was gathered around her.

“Jasmine what’s-”

“Everyone please report to the auditorium. Everyone please report to the auditorium.”

Charles’ voice broke through the panic of the classroom panic. The students quickly left the room, leaving behind their items and Erik. He chased after his charges as other classrooms emptied, faces full of confusion, horror, and fear filled the hall as he was pushed to auditorium. The chattering got louder as he enter the large room, professors tried their hardest to calm the children as the news of what caused the panic spread amongst them.

_Charles? Charles what is happening? Why-_

_Erik please._

_Charle-_

“Everyone please calm down. There is no need to panic,” Charles spoke as he rolled across the stage, mic in hand. “Everyone, sit. Sit down.”

Whether it was of their own choice or Charles' intervention, all the students sat as the faculty relaxed, not needing to handle the fretful kids. Erik quietly walked to join the other teachers that sat in the front row.

“Now, most of you already know... There was an incident at John F. Kennedy National Airport. Five mutants were kidnapped.”

 


	3. the taking

Zoya watched Elizabeth pull her luggage off the converter belt. Zoya sat on the benches close by, her eyes closed as she waited for the suppressants to wear off and her mutation to return. Right now, she felt heavy.

"Come on, Zo. I think I have everything."

Zoya opened her heavy lids to see Elizabeth's out stretched hand. She took it and pulled herself to her feet.

"We need to stop at a service desk. We need a map and to call-"

"I foonts cwalrs," Zoya mumbled.

Elizabeth laughed, "This is worse than when you got your wisdom teeth removed!"

Linking arms, Elizabeth led them to one of the service desks. There was a short line, four or five people ahead. Zoya let her eyes fall closed. In front of Elizabeth and Zoya was a couple, by the sound of it, from Russia. Probably tourists. They were looking around, confused.

"Excuse us. Can you help us?"  One of them, the woman asked in stilted English.

"I can try," Elizabeth smiled, "We just got here, too. I don't know a thing about New York, and barely anything about this airport."

"We just want to know if there is a map. Or, ah, directory?" The man inquire, accent thick.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you," Elizabeth replied.

The couple shared a quick conversation in their native tongue, speaking quickly and harshly. Zoya let her head rest on Elizabeth's shoulder. The pill was wearing off. In the background of her mind, Zoya could hear indistinguishable murmurs.

"Alright, thank for you help anyways," the woman finally replied, her voice tense with false pleasantries.

Elizabeth smiled in response, but made no vocal retort.

"We're here to visit Adam's relative," the woman grinned, placing a tender hand on her partner's chest.

Her brown eyes looked up at the man adoringly. In return, he pulled a strand of loose hair behind her hair.

_Stupid cunt._

Zoya's eyes flew open. She raised her head and quickly looked around. That was the clearest voice she had heard since leaving from the airport in Kansas. It left her head feeling much too full.

"Yes," that same smooth voice spoke, only now, it was tense and chopped, "my nephew, Abram is a mutant. We're here to surprise him at school!"

Zoya stared at the man. Adam. He wore dark peacoat and red beanie. His had were in his pants pocket. His skin was pale and he had a tattoo sneaking up jus neck behind his ear.

"That's nice. I'm sure he'll be excited to see you again," Elizabeth smiled, stepping forward as the next person took up the service desk.

The woman pulled the man close to her and whispered in his ear, giggling. _The girl on her arm. She must be a mutant. Look at her eyes._

"What about my eyes?" Zoya slurred.

The couple froze. Adam's head slowly turned to Zoya. He smiled sweetly and slowly.

"Your eyes. They are black."

Her brow furrowed. She looked to Elizabeth to see her gasp. She dropped her arm and stepped away, hands covering her mouth.

"Zo- Zoya... Your... Your eyes!"

Before Zoya could question her, she watch Elizabeth fall to the ground. Then the people surrounding them fell. The security guards, the tourists, everyone fell. Except for a young child just at the doors. And an elderly man by the restrooms. Zoya turned in fear. Only two other people stood behind her.

Adam. And the woman.

They stood side by side, no longer faking the pleasant smiles of a couple in love. In Adam's hand was a small device, his thumb on a button. Zoya watched as the woman pulled plugs out of her ears and place them in her pockets. The man places the device in his pocket.

"What are you doing! What is happening?" Zoya yelled.

She turned to her friend, dropping to her knees. Her hands flew to her neck, her wrists.

"She's still breathing and she still has a pulse, look we need to call some-"

Zoya rolled onto her stomach as she fingered the blood trailing from her lip. She tilted her head to see the woman.

"You... You kicked-"

Zoya gasped as the woman kicked her in the stomach. She curled around herself.

"Do not worry," the woman whispered in her ear, "This won't hurt nearly as much as the training."

She pulled a medical kit out of her purse. She opened it to reveal six syringes. She hummed as she gently pushed the needle into the back of Zoya's neck. She gasped. Soon she was opening and had spasms down her back. Her eyes rolled to her head as she watch the elder man and child fall to the ground as well as men in black enter the airport.

||||||||||

"Come on now guys, I was only joking! It's not like I _knew_ snapping that nice man's neck would-"

The young man fell to against the chains. He was heavily wounded, blood marking his chest and and leaking through the burlap bag covering his head. Another man, much older sighed as he held a knotted whip.

"I will ask you again. What is your name?"

The young man laughed under the sack.

"We both know my name, Phillip."

The guard yelled in frustration. He struck his prisoner again, watching as new wounds were made and old ones opened.

"What is your name!"

He received no answer except the ragged breath of the man in front of him.

_"We have incoming subjects. Two Omega levels. All prepare for back up."_

The man turned to the desk at his side. The communicator blinked red.

"That... That's for you right?" The chained man spat.

The guard dropped the whip. He pulled a knife from his belt.

"You," he spoke, yanking the sack off his head, "are no one."

He placed the sharp edge to his throat.

"You are an _asset_."

He watched blood drip down the neck.

"You are a _weapon_."

He dropped the knife and pulled his fist back before hearing the satisfying crunch of broke cracking. His head fell.

" _You have no name_."

The guard stepped back. Other guards ran passed the open door. He turned to join them. The chained man lifted he head.

"My name is Peter Maximoff."


	4. silent screams

The first thing Zoya noticed was the liquid dripping onto her cheek. The second was the smell. She had never smelled anything like it. It smelled like piss and copper. The third thing was the cold, heavy weight around her ankles and wrists.

She opened her eyes to see a dimly lit light bulb just passed rusted bars. Her head swam as she looked around her, still dizzy. She looked up to see a cracked ceiling. She flinched as another drop fell onto her cheek. Zoya shifted her attention to the shackles.

She was sat against a damp wall, her wrist bound beside her head. She couldn't even slouch without putting a strain on her shoulders. The shackles on her ankles were attached to a chain that trailed to the wall, one on each side of her hips. If she's wasn't bound by her arms, she would be free to pace the small cell she was in.

Zoya's mind was sluggish as she gathered this information. She should be panicking. She should she be screaming. She should be-

It was quiet.

She had been hearing the voices of others for months. Their fears. Their excitements. Their frustrations. Her thoughts were never alone.

Now, in this cell, she could only hear her own thoughts.

She screamed.

||||||||||

Most of the children had returned to their rooms or one of the many lounge rooms. Classes had been cancelled in order to inform the parents and guardians of the children's safety. Charles sat at his desk, phone to his ear as he repeated calmly once again, " _the students are perfectly safe, ma'am. Why yes, if you wish to speak to your son you are more than welcome to- Yes ma'am, of course. I'll have him contact you very soon. No, no I will not forget._ "

He hung the phone up and put his head in his hands. Charles sighed deeply.

"Come in, Erik."

He raised his head to meet his husband. Erik held a plate hold a sandwich and two pills. In his other hand he held a bottle of water.

"You've been at this for hours, Charles. Eat."

Charles sighed as the plate was set in front of him and the phone pulled away. Erik eyes him until he picked up the sandwich and bit a piece off between his teeth.

"Erik, I-"

"Charles, there is nothing you can do!" Erik interrupted.

"Five mutants are missing, Erik! Three of them were children! One of them was barely nine years old!"

Charles pushes the plate away from him in disgust. He rolled away from desk in anger and towards the doors of his study.

"You have children here, Charles!"

"And I will always protect them!" Charles yelled. "Erik, understand this. This attack was not random. Nor is it a coincidence that it happened so close to my school."

Charles turned to face his husband. "Do not doubt my priorities, darling. But I will not rest until those mutants are found. Homeland Security has already contacted me."

"You mean Raven."

Charles chuckled, "is there a difference?"

||||||||||

Zoya stared at the wall in silence. Her throat ached from screaming. Her ribs hurt from the steel toed boots. Her back her from the baton. Her head hurt from the drugs. She was chained again, only in a different cage this time. One long chain linked to the wall was what held her captive. There were cuffs on either side of her head, but they were not in use. There were other cages surrounding her, though as far as she could tell, they were empty.

Her trance was broken as a door opened down the hall, yet she made no move to see who entered. She could almost hear the muggled thoughts. It was as if someone was yelling through a muffled rag. She groaned at the onslaught of thoughts as guards surround her cage. One of them opens her cage as two others bind her wrists at her back and unlock her chain.  One clamps a heavy metal collar around her neck. It weighs on her shoulders and bruises her bones.

She's pulled to her feet and dragged out of the cage. The men surround her in a tight circle and push forward. Zoya's legs can hardly support her. She leans heavily on the guard clutching her arm. They exit the door and into a hallway. The walls are stone and cracked and are stained with browns and reds and greens and- It's hard to see in the dim lighting. Zoya glances to see all the guards are wearing goggles. They lead her down the halls of this _facility_. Finally, the push her into an empty room. She falls to the ground as the guards step away. The doors closed behind them.

She slowly pulls herself to her knees. The room is big. The lighting is much clearer in here, bright. The size of it reminds her of the old gym at her school. To her left, lights flicker on. She watched as men and woman stare down at her. High above is... an observation deck. Like a surgical room.

"What's going on?" She croaks, forcing herself to her feet. She stumbles but right herself. "What are you doing! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?"

She pants in hysteria as they all stare blankly at her. Few even converse behind the glass wall. On the other side of the room, the door slides open. A young man tumbles through the door. He wears no shirt, just loose pants and a collar around his neck similar to hers.

"Is... Is that the best you got?" The man cackles, pushing himself upright as the door closes.

He looks to the open window. He flips them off. The man turns to Zoya and... he's not a man at all. Well, he is, but not much older than Zoya herself. He noticeably looks Zoya up and down, noting her stained joggers and threadbare shirt. The way her hair has been hazardously shaved, just barely reaching past the tips of her ears.

In return, Zoya stared openly at the him. His pale skin cross crossed with scars and welts. The metal wrapped tightly around his wrists. The striking silver hair.

He was a mutant. Like her.  Zoya cries in relief and fear.

"Can... Can you tell me what's happening? I- I don't know! They won't say any-" her voices cuts off in a sob. "What do they want from me?"

His face morphs into something she can't read. He lets his hair flop in front of his eyes. He looks anywhere, anywhere but the sobbing girl in front of him.

Before he can answer, the metal collars hiss and release. The deafening sound of the metal falling around their ankles causes them to freeze. A voice clearing around them pulls Zoya from her fearful thoughts.

"You may now begin."


	5. homecoming: part one

Peter Parker sat contently under the shade tree. His laptop was beside him and a StarkPhone in his hand. The rest of the students ran about the backyard. The faculty was currently grilling hotdogs and hamburgers.

It was Homecoming Day.

Students were running around, showing off in front of their parents and nonmutant siblings. The smell of cooking food and fresh lemonade entered Peter's nostrils just as a shadow covered his feet. He looked up.

"Oh. Hey, Professor McCoy. What's up?"

The older, more bluer man smiled down at Peter, "We're starting the Mutant Olympics. Would you like to join?"

Peter glanced at his laptop and phone. Though there were no homework assignments due for another three days, Peter did still have to finish his online Bio-Engineering Mechanics course work. He smiled sadly at McCoy and shook his head.

"Nah. Thanks though, Professor McCoy."

The man shrugged, "Offer's open anytime."

Peter waved him off as the man turned. He let out a playful snarl at the fifth graders who were on his team.

Homecoming Day was pretty special to the kids. Even though parents were always welcomed to visit their children at anytime in the school year, most were unable to do so. Homecoming Day brought together all the willing families. It lasted all from Friday night when everyone had a lovely dinner together to Sunday morning where everyone had brunch and tearful goodbyes. In between that, there was games and pictures and more food. It was a good time for those who had families and even those that didn't. The faculty took those under their wing that didn't have someone here. A faux parent if you will. Peter's was Erik, though he wasn't the only one. One glance up and he would see Erik playing tug a war with a kid with blue hair and green skin and super strength.

It was a close match, but Erik was eventually pulled to the ground as the boy jogged victory laps around his fallen body.

Peter looked back to his laptop.

"Alright. Bio-Engineering."

||||||||||

Zoya stood, blood dripping from her hairline as she countered the man's sharp punch with a kick the shin. She heard a satisfying crack as he fell shifted his weight from his injured leg to his hands. He twisted, wrapping his thighs around her waist. He threw her across the room. She landed with a silent cry. She was back up again. With a wave of her hands, he was flattened to the wall, his head smacking painfully. She watched blood ooze out of the cracked skull. She watched as it healed just a quickly.

"That all you got princess?"

Zoya didn't reply as the man charged. He threw a punch to her stomach, doubling her over, and a elbow in the center of her spine. Before he could finish her off, a loud buzzer rang through the training room. It was the end of their session.

The man made quick to pull Zoya to her feet.

"You okay, Z?"

She spit blood from her mouth and push her shoulder back into place.

"Yeah. What about you, Wade?"

The scarred, bald man smiled, "I'm always okay."

The two broke apart as guards entered. Wade gazed at Zoya once more as the men bound them. He saw her wince as the guard yanked her injured shoulder.

"Be a gentleman, boys. We gotta lady in her-"

His holding guard placed the gag in his mouth from behind. The muscles of his stomach were pulled taunt as the guard bent him back.

"Shut up," he growled. 

Zoya was pulled from the room. She followed the men quietly, compliant with anything they had to offer. Her mind was filled with milky thoughts, thoughts not unlike Wade's. Violent. Dark. Horrifying. At least Wade's were directed towards her. She shivered as one of the guards pulled on her elbow.

_Fucking hot for a mutant. Wouldn't mind taking her for a test run and-_

He released his grip on her as they turned the corner. It was now just one long corridor to her holding cell.

She hated it.

Against the training. The torture. The fighting. The blood. The tests. Zoya hated her cell the most. It was complete isolation. She couldn't hear anything outside the walls. She couldn't hear footsteps, voices. Thoughts. There was only a cot and pillow and glowing green lights. Her only guest was her own mind.

She was placed there at the discovery of her mutation. Telekinesis. She had moved the bars of her other cage. She had killed one of the guards with his own gun, never even having to touch it. It took seven men and a tranquilizer to shut her down. Since then she's been moved to maximum level security. She had not even meant to do those things. She couldn't control it.

The guard enter the six digit key code to the locked cell. She was pushed inside and the door closed. She stepped back against the door, allowing the men to open the small slot. They undid her cuffs. Zoya slowly pulled her shoulders forward and rubbed at both wrists gently. She closed her eyes to the silence. Quietly, she walked to her cot. She stared silently at the door.

There, written in a red crayon given to her a sick joke, was 360 tally marks.

She was leaving. Today.

||||||||||

Over the time spent in the Facility, Zoya recognized a pattern. Every morning, she sparred. It was always one of two people. Wade or the silver haired boy. Wade talked a lot. Always, actually. He taught her brute force and the cleverness needed to get out of grips and out from under people much larger than her. The silver haired boy didn't talk. Never, actually. He taught her agility and speed. Since that first session, the only words to come from him were grunts and scoffs.

He had a lovely smile though.

After her sparring, there was training. How to better the skills she already knew and learns skill she never wanted to know. Like how to shoot a man. Where fatal shots were. How to take apart a gun. Training to be a soldier. Then there was testing. They ran different tests on her each day. She didn't know why, but she assumed it was for her mutation. The tests left her in pain, sometimes unable to move for days. The first test was a brain scan. Then they shaved her head. She had brain surgery the next day.

In between that, she was fed nutrition supplements. After testing she was given thick, chalky protein shakes.

Once every five days though, she was drugged and taken to the General. She assumed he was who ran this shit hole. Wade whispered about him when he had her close. Wade knows his name. Zoya had never seen his face. He always wore a mask, like the other guards did. His office though, looked so... civilian. He had a desk, a book shelf, even a plant. In the corner though, was a chair. It was almost like a dental chair, only more needles and heavier, metal straps. He was a scientist and scientist always has an experiment.

Now, as she waited for her chance of escape, she stood. The red crayon was left in the corner beside the door. She made a mark.

361.


	6. findings

Charles smiled as the children hooped and hollered around the large expansion of a yard. He was currently placing hot dogs on buns for the guests to eat in the short while that dinner will be ready. Everything was going as well as too be expected with excited children (some with powers they were yet able to control). No child had seriously injured themselves yet. Charles hummed in content as he placed warm tray of grilled foods in his lap and made way from the grill to the picnic tables. Yes, today was going quite-

"Oh. Well this is a tad embarrassing."

He looked down in disdain at the overgrown weed that had gotten trapped in his wheel. The abrupt stop nearly had the hotdogs falling from his lap. He had no doubt in his mind it wasn't there before as snickering children darted passed, hands covering there mouths and eyes avoiding his. He sighed.

"Hen-"

"Oh, please, let me get those for you professor."

Charles nodded gratefully to one of his students as they grabbed the tray and placed it on a near by table. He eyed the child's back as he darted away before turning to the young teen.

"Yes, thank you, Peter."

He watched the young boy pull the weeds loose from his chair. He pat the dirt off his hands and stood.

"Huh," he smiled, "kids, right, Professor?"

Charles chuckled. "I suppose so. Are you enjoying Homecoming?"

Peter shrugged. He sat by a table a few feet away, his laptop in front of him.

"I've been mostly doing course work. Bio-Engineering Mechanics."

Charles brow furrowed. "On Saturday? On Homecoming Day? Where's your Team Leader? Where's Erik? No, Peter, _put that laptop away-_ "

"Come on, Professor X! I'm fine! I don't need to play any games. I like what I'm doing here. Really."

Peter gave a small smile, one he'd been using on the staff since he got here. It always got him his way. He watched Charles' resolve waiver.

"Peter, I really do believe that-"

Charles paused. His demeanor straightened and his eyes hardened. He smiled tensely at the young charge.

"Do excuse me, Peter. I have some matters I must attend to."

Charles nodded and turned his chair. Before he was to far out of reach he turned to Peter.

"Do please try to immerse yourself in a few activities. Maybe try the rock climbing?"

Peter grinned, "Sure, Professor."

||||||||||

The door to Charles Xavier's study was closed, per usual unless he was in there. It had all the files of the students and staff. It was the most invaluable room in the mansion, aside from possibly the library. Right now though, as the door came into Charles' view, it was cracked, just a tad. As he drew closer, he could hear scuffling and murmured voices.

Particularly, his husband's.

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure? How is this even possible? It's been a year-"

"Erik, do you doubt my abilities? I was top of every-"

"Yes, yes. I know, Raven."

Charles opened the door the rest of the way. He was met with the sight of Erik at the window, fiddling with metal cubes he kept in his pocket. And sitting behind his desk-

"Raven," he muttered.

She sat contently in one of the soft, leather chairs that were usually set  in front of his desk for students. Now, she had pulled it behind his desk. Her black boots perched on his graded papers. Raven looked at him smugly, greeting them with her natural blue skin and slick orange hair. A black uniform covered most of her body, except for a the skin of her hands and neck.

"Charles. Dashing as always."

He didn't reply. He looked at her.

"You found them. All those mutants?"

Raven's feet fell off the desk as she inhaled sharply.

"Stay out of my head, Charles." She regarded, poison in her teeth.

The man in question calmly rolled to his desk. He picked up the papers from his desk, now covered in dirty and black smudges.

"I wasn't reading _your_ head, darling."

He heard Raven huff as he placed the papers on a side table.

"Tell me," he said, turning back to Raven. "What do you know?"

"Everyone is dead. And by everyone, I mean all but a handful of mutants survived. The bad guys? All dead, except for one. He calls himself the General."

"You want me to speak to him I suppose," Charles crossed his arms in a faux state of calm. "I'll gladly do the honors."

Raven stood. She paced the room.

"All of them had bullet holes in their heads. Most committed suicide. A few though, they had been shot execution style. There was a line of men, all on their knees. How do you succeed in convincing forty five men to get on their knees and be killed?"

"Even the most corrupt have loyalty, my dear Raven."

"No... That's not it."

"You believe there's another telepath."

Both turned to Erik. He was tense as the cubes flew quickly around his fingers.

"Yeah. We do."

"It was a facility full of mutants, I wouldn't be surprise if there was at least one," Charles replied.

"Over two hundred men were killed. The only one left- his mind," Raven stopped. "His mind has been torn apart. It's not just a telepath."

"They're strong, Charles."

He turned to Erik. The cubes were down, in his hand.

"We have just a few handful of mutants that were alive when we went in. Most of them were dead on tables. It looked to be a research facility."

"Research on mutants isn't anything new-"

"But _this_ is!"

"Out with it, Raven," Erik growled.

Charles felt his chair jerk and watched as a few metal items shook. Raven took notice as well as she moved to stand closer to Charles.

"Some of the mutants... They were just humans. Simply humans. When- when they went missing."

Shit went to hell.

||||||||||

Zoya was calm as they bound her feet. She didn't attack when they placed the heavy leather strap across her lap. She didn't even twitch when they cuffed her wrists to the chair. And when they wrapped the leather collar around her neck, she simply smiled.

Zoya was compliant.

"It's good to see you cooperating, child."

She turned her head to see the _General_. He was a portly man, but tall. It look almost physically impossible that his small legs could support his large and round torso. His yellow plaid shirt was tucked in and stained with varying shades of what Zoya learned to be blood.

It had never occurred to her that mutants could have green blood.

He ran a small hand through his hair, only a few greasy, white strands left.

"You've finally learned your place."

As he drew nearer, the light glinted off his glasses. Zoya only blinked as his fingers delicately graced her inner thigh. Through the thin blue surgical mask that was always covering his face, his grinned.

"This is quite pleasant!" The General giggled. His breath was wet against Zoya's neck as his fingers travelled up to the hem of her thin pants. She felt his tongue dart out quickly against her neck, the thin material blocking him from truly touching her.

"I feel a treat is in order. Don't you, Darling?" He whispered, pulling away just slightly.

As his eyes travelled downward, Zoya closed her eyes tightly. She heard the guard at the door shuffle slightly. She knew from experience and one unplanned escape attempt that there were at least three other guards outside that door. She opened her eyes as his nose traced her collarbone. She hissed as his fingers slipped lower. She took a deep breath as the General pulled away. He clicked his tongue.

"My, my. You are so exquisite!"

He turned quickly. At his hip was a metal stand full of... his toys as he affectionately calls them. He fingers each item so tenderly.

_Whatever shall I use?_

Zoya stiffened. The nasally echo in her head left her feeling hollow. As if she was carved out with a spoon. She watched as he picked up, admired, and replaced each instrument. Out of the corner of her eye the guard yawned silently.

_**Stand still.** _

The guard immediately hardened. His hand was frozen near his mouth. Even his chest remained at still.

**_Relax._ **

His hand fell to his side. He looked about lazily, making no move towards or away the pair.

The General liked to keep Zoya's powers coherent. Just enough to be able to hear his _visions_ as he called them. He believed to be able to test the full extent of her powers, to gain _true_ _research_ he had to keep her powers in tact. At least until he wanted to play.

Zoya smiled.

He had know idea of the power she held inside of her. The practice she has had. The small victories she's had. Making a guard stumble over his own feet as all his focus was forced on her. Seeing the silver haired boy's movement through his eyes before it even happened. Testing her mind against the constant restrains placed on her. She was stronger than the General even knew.

"Hm. Here we go!"

The General turned towards the strapped girl. In his hands he held a small device. It was square and smooth. No bigger than Zoya's thumb.

"This little beauty! Ah, she'll give ya one," he spoke with glee.

He gently placed the device on the side of her neck, as if it was a delicate piece of jewelry. (For a moment Zoya was brought back to her mother. A flash of her necklace, holding the colors of her family. The thin bones of her mother's chest as she sung her to sleep. Zoya wished she could sleep, if only to see her mother again.)

But this device was much more deadly than a family necklace. Zoya gasped as she felt a sharp pain in her neck. It's travelled to her head, then her chest, her stomach, her feet. She struggled against the chains, trying to run away from the pain.

Her black eyes rolled to the guard at the door.

_**Stop him.** _

The guard _moved._


	7. homecoming: part two

Raven swiped her key card down the lock as Charles and Erik lagged behind, speaking quietly amongst themselves. When the door opened, it revealed a white synthetic hallway. It was free of any material any mutant could manipulate. Stark Tech. It was a deep contrast to the damp, concrete corridor that surrounded them now.

"The General is down here."

"I assumed so," Erik commented drily.

"I yet to understand why I am needed. You have all the information you needed, correct? Where the other bases are, what they were doing, they have every file on every mutant that was ever there," Charles questioned as Erik pushed him into the synthetic hall without so much as lifting a finger.

Raven didn't reply. She led them down the hallway. Charles sighed in annoyance. He idly in a wheelchair, much different than his custom one. Erik pushed him lazily through the hallways, his own arms actually crossed. Trying to intimidate the agents in his own petty way.

As she they followed Raven deeper into the corridor,her blonde beauty melted away to reveal her fiery orange hair and blue skin. Charles' chair jerked as it came to a complete stop. And the comforting mind that was always against his disappeared

"Raven!" Charles yelled as she continued down.

"There's a force field. Blocks our powers. Come on."

She didn't look back as she turned left. Behind Charles, Erik tensed. Charles shifted as far as he could, his fingers resting over Erik's hip. Erik breathed deeply. He removed Charles fingers from his hip and began to manually push Charles down the hall, one hand on the handle, the other placed on Charles shoulder.

"Darling, I don't need to be in your head to-"

"Shut up Charles."

They found Raven waiting outside another door, hands on her hips as she spoke to the camera.

"Open up."

The door opened with whirl. It revealed a room. It looked much like any interrogation room you'd see on television. There was a separate room for those to observe and a window. Past the window, which was most likely a one way mirror, was a man. He sat in a wheel chair similar to the one given to Charles. He was a portly man, with frail legs. Sweat protruded down his forehead as he stared ahead, into the one way mirror.

"Why is he in a straight jacket? You said he wasn't dangerous!"

"Erik, please do calm yourself," Charles said.

He let his hand rest on Erik's, the only comfort he could give him without the power of his mind.

"He isn't," Raven informed. "It's for his own safety."

"Safety?" Erik scoffed. "He doesn't deserve safety."

"He can beat his head against the wall until it's nothing but mush for all I care, but not until we get what we need from him!"

"What do you expect from us then? Our mutations have-"

"I don't need anything from _you_ , Erik."

The hand on Charles shoulder tightened. He winced.

"Well what do you want from me, Raven. Erik is right. That field-"

"Room 64582, take it down."

And suddenly, Raven was blonde.

Charles felt Erik gasp at the sudden feeling of iron and metal leaving its cold marks on his mind. Charles himself shifted at the suddenly onslaught of fear and anger from Erik.

But his focus was on the man on the other side of the glass.

"Raven. He's... his mind is-"

"It's broken," she finished.

Her jaw ticked and her stance became one of a soldier. She kept her gaze away.

"Charles. We- _I_ need you to fix him."

Charles felt the swarm of anger. He chair bent lightly, though not causing him harm. 

_Darling, please do-_

"Fix him? You cannot fix evil, Raven! Let him suffer! He is nothing. Nothing but-"

"Erik, this is not for him!"

Raven pushed past Charles, her body coiled with anger.

"You think I wish to repair the man that harmed our brothers and sisters? Who took innocent lives and ruined them? Destroyed them?"

Her face was inches from Erik's as she seethed. Erik stood calm and composed. The only outlet to his anger was Charles' continuously bending chair and the low creaking sound of the bend of the table on the other side of the glass wall. The man inside seemed to pay no mind, staring blanking ahead.

"Then why," he hissed.

"A seventeen year old girl is dying! Her body is killing her from the inside out! We can't figure out why! An eighteen year old boy is in a coma! His mutation is inhuman speed! Every medicine given to him is metabolized too fast to take any effect! He's been on a drip for fourteen hours and there hasn't been any change! So suck up your damn feelings and let-"

"Raven! Enough!"

The two quieted. Raven stepped back. Until she was standing back at the mirror. The creaking metal paused before righting itself.

"I'll see what I can do, Raven, but even now I can tell that his mind has been too far damaged."

"Room 64582, open door to the interrogation room."

The door opened. Erik placed his hand on Charles shoulder once again to stop him from moving.

_Charles._

_Calm down, Darling. I can hardly hear you over your anxiety._

_Charles, please._

Charles gently removed his husband's hand. He smiled assuringly over his shoulder.

"Charles," he whispered.

"Just a moment, my dear. Okay? Just a moment."

Erik return a stiff nod. He squeezed Charles hand before letting go.

||||||||||

The guard leveled his gun to the General's head. The man stood stoically. The General shook, hands above his head and fear in his eye. Blood slowly dropped down his cheek.

 ** _Good_**.

_**Slow him down, but don't kill him.** _

The soldier wordlessly flipped the gun in his hands. He whipped it across the General's face wordlessly. Zoya watched his body drop to the cold ground. 

_**"Release me."** _

||||||||||

Erik watched Charles through the glass as his husband sat in front of the man who had killed so many. No words were discussed between the two men, not from what Erik could tell. All he could see was the back of his lover's head and the soulless eyes of the contained man. Beside him, Raven stood, poised as a soldier. She fingered the plastic dart gun at her hip.

"Is that for me or him?"

"Please, don't fool yourself," Raven smirked, folding her arms, "I don't need a tranquilizer to take you down."

Erik snorted. He moved his eyes from Charles to Raven's figure. She had grown since her time at Xavier's school. He had known Raven since she was nearly sixteen and he himself barely twenty. He was only in his second year of college, studying criminology.

A lot had changed since then.

She was no longer the shy, sweet little girl who wanted to change the world. The little blondie who dressed like a hippie and never wore shoes. No, now she was a young woman who held a gun as if it was as familiar as her favorite doll. She was deadly.

But he was also not the same young man.

"So, you've been sparring then?"

Raven's lips fell into a lazy grin as she turned her body to Erik.

"Something like that, yeah."

Erik shook his head in faux disbelief. He looked back to Charles.

||||||||||

Charles sat quite comfortably in front of the portly man. He leaned on his arm, slouching you could say. He smiled pleasantly.

"Hello, my name is Charles Xavier. I'm here to help you. Will you let me help you?"

He received no comment from the man. He continued staring forward, just over Charles' shoulder.

"Alright then, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a look inside your head, yeah?"

||||||||||

The General placed the small device onto the girl's neck. He watched her stiffen, her black eyes widened. Soon, she was struggling against the leather straps that held her down. She gasped for breath  

"Now, now, this is only going to test your blood." He patted her brown cheek playfully as he turned to a metal tray full of instruments and a manila folder. "You see, mutant circulatory systems are slightly different than humans, the blood all being slightly mutated. This device tests to see what happens if we remove the mutated chromosome out of the blood and replace it with a different mutation! We already know humans can mutate, but can mutants mutate?"

The General giggled happily too himself. He listened partly to the girl's gasping breaths and partly to the quiet hum of the device. He looked up as boots came into his view. Before he could say a word, his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell ungracefully to the ground as the guard that was to be guarding the door pushed his instruments away from him. The loud crash of metal falling to the ground echoed around the room. The General screamed.

"What are you doing you idi-"

He was silenced as the steel toed boot connected with his mouth. And then his stomach. And then his groin. The General was pulled to his feet by the guard. Once he was standing he was pushed against the concrete wall.

"How dare you betray-"

A gun was held to his temple. The guard stared at him blankly. The General held his arms up in fear.

Before he could plea, the guard flipped his gun and struck him. He fell to the ground. His head throbbed and blood dripped down his temple. His version blurred as the guard released his subject. He watched her fall to her knees. The guard pulled her up before she harshly pushed him away.

**_"Grab him! Carry him with us!"_ **

The General watched the guard step towards him. His eyes glanced to the young girl's. Her eyes got a little darker. She spoke to him.

"I will destroy everything."

The boot connected to his temple.


End file.
